G is for Gorge
by Avirra
Summary: A rare hurricane is heading for the Southern California coast and is one part of the equation that puts the 51 crew in peril.


**G is for Gorge**

"Those skies outside are looking wicked."

Roy moved to the window to stand next to Marco and had to agree.

"A hurricane, of all things, coming in. Pretty rare here even if they have downgraded Norman to a tropical depression."

Glancing over from the coffee pot, Johnny frowned.

"What's the difference between a hurricane and a tropical depression, any way?"

Roy shrugged.

"I think the only real difference is how hard the winds are blowing. We're likely to get a good drenching regardless."

From his spot on the couch where Henry was making use of him as a cushion, Chet groaned.

"Downpours mean wrecks. It's like folks here freak out at the sight of rain."

Captain Stanley came out of his office, running a hand through his hair.

"I just got off the phone with the Coast Guard. They're already doing water rescues due to the high tides the storm is generating."

Mike gave Cap an incredulous look.

"People are out on the water when they know a storm this big is coming in?"

"I know, Mike. Folks don't think that they're not only putting themselves into danger, but also endangering the men and women that have to go out into the waves to try and help them when they run into difficulties."

"Speaking of the rain, here it comes. Wind is really stirring too."

It was about fifteen minutes after the rain began that the tones sounded. In line with Chet's earlier words, it was a two car accident where one of the cars had left the road and gone down into a gorge. Engine crew and paramedics were all soon on their way to the scene.

Captain Stanley was pleased to see the lights of a police car were already flashing and even more pleased to find it was Vince waiting for them.

"What's the story?"

"I've got two people in the vehicle still on top. Since the car seems in mostly good condition, I asked them to stay put inside until the paramedics could look them over. I haven't been able to get a response from whoever is in the car that went over, so no idea how many are in there or what condition they might be in."

Taking the situation under consideration, Stanley called out his orders.

"Roy - John. Go with Vince and check out the folks in the car up here. Chet - Marco. I want the two of you to grab some rope and get ready to go down. We need to get that vehicle secured and an idea of how many we're dealing with."

"On it."

"Right, Cap."

"Mike, stay here and keep track of the weather alerts. If it's going to get worse, I want to know sooner than later."

There were four sets of ropes tethered to the bumper of Big Red - one each for the safety harnesses that Chet and Marco were wearing and the other two ropes would be taken with them for use in securing the vehicle.

The rain was coming down harder now, making keeping decent visual contact with his men impossible. Stanley was on edge as Chet and Marco slowly disappeared over the edge and out of his sight. The two of them were a good team and could read each other's signals, but with unknown conditions below, anything could happen. And unfortunately, this became one of those times when something did.

A truck hauling a over-sized camper was headed their direction. The truck's owner/driver hadn't owned the camper long and was still getting used to the way his truck handled while pulling it. He had stayed out camping longer than he should have, but the fishing had been so good, he didn't think one more day would make a difference. He never imagined the weather could turn so bad so quickly. The way the wind gusts were making the camper sway had him jumpy and looking into his rear view mirrors more than he was looking forward. As the camper was heavily loaded, it was rapidly becoming a case of the tail wagging the dog.

When the rain intensified, the driver should have slowed down, but he was trying to outrun the worst of the storm. Between the heavy rain and his divided attention, he missed the flares Vince had laid down until they were in his rear view mirror. By then, Big Red was just ahead and it was far too late.

The emergency alert tones had just sounded on the radio and Mike had reached over to increase the volume when he saw the highlights of the truck heading straight for him. Big Red was parked and there was no time to do anything but grab the mike on his portable radio and yell.

"Cap! Run!"

One thing Hank Stanley knew better than he knew his own name was that Mike Stoker did not raise his voice without reason. Without even pausing to consider why he was running, he ran toward the car where Johnny and Roy were still working. He was halfway there when he knew why Mike had yelled as the sickening sound of compacting metal and breaking glass could be heard even over the storm, drawing Johnny and Roy's attention up as well.

To the horror of all, Big Red was turned until she was parallel to the edge and very near to going into the gorge herself. The truck and camper were now jack-knifed, blocking the rest of the road - a major accident waiting to happen with the poor visibility. Vince immediately got on his radio, calling for a road block in an attempt to keep any more vehicles from being added to the carnage.

Shaken, Captain Stanley looked back to where he had been standing. If Mike hadn't yelled the warning, the best he could have hoped for would have been to be shoved over the edge into the gorge. Then his mind immediately snapped back to his men - Big Red hopefully shielded Mike from harm, but Chet and Marco had been tethered to Big Red's bumper.

Their current patients stable and awaiting an ambulance, Roy and Johnny obviously had the same thought as their Captain and all three ran to check on their teammates as well as the driver of the truck. Stanley yelled out instructions as soon as the two paramedics were close enough to hear him.

"John - check the driver. Roy - see if Marco and Chet's lines are still good. I'll check on Mike."

It only took Johnny a matter of minutes to determine that the driver was past any aid. He took a few more minutes to make sure that there were no other passengers, then moved to join Roy. Two of the four ropes had snapped when Big Red had been shoved around by the impact, but neither paramedic knew which of their friends had been attached to that rope.

After checking the remaining harness rope for damage, Roy gave a sharp tug on it. As he had feared, there was no response. Johnny came over and together, the two of them slowly began to pull up whoever was on the other end of the line. It took longer than either paramedic liked, but they needed to be careful to keep the line from dragging and possibly fraying.

When they had finally gotten their crewmate close enough, Roy braced the rope while Johnny moved in for a quick check.

"It's Marco! He's bleeding from his nose and unconscious, but seems to be breathing well. Let's get him the rest of the way out so I can check him over better."

In the cab of Big Red, Mike was dazed, but seemed otherwise alright other than that. When his head cleared enough to answer Stanley's questions, Mike suddenly remembered the radio alert.

"Cap - just before the crash, they put out a flash flood alert for this area. The rain's coming down even harder in the higher elevations."

"Stay here until you feel steady enough. I'm going to go help John and Roy get Marco and Chet out of the gorge, then we'll see if anything can be done about the car that went over."

"I'm good to help out, Cap. Let's go."

The rain was still coming hard and heavy, so Captain Stanley didn't see Johnny heading for the paramedic unit carrying Marco. What he did see as he came around was Roy, his hand wrapped around the end of a broken line, leaning over as far as he dared in an attempt to get a look below.

The harness lying on the ground where the paramedics had dropped it after removing it from Marco was testament that at least one man was back up and since Stanley knew which man had been on which side, he knew it was Chet's line that had given way.

"Any sign of Chet?"

"I can't see anything, Cap. We need to go down after him. There's no telling what condition he might be in."

Stanley made his decision quickly.

"Hand me the harness. I'll go down. Roy, grab another line off the engine. I'll take it down with me and secure it to Kelly when I find him."

There wasn't time to argue over who was best suited to go down, so Roy went for the line, quickly bringing it back and securing it as Mike helped Stanley adjust the harness. As soon as Roy handed him the second line, he started down, hoping that Chet wasn't lying in the rising water at the bottom of the gorge.

In the first piece of good luck since they had arrived, the rain slowed a little and allowed Stanley to get his bearings. Kelly was hanging onto the car - or, more accurately, the woman in the driver's seat of the car was hanging onto him, crying hysterically. Stanley couldn't say he blamed her.

"Cap! We've got to get her out!"

The one remaining rope was stretched tight and creaking. Chet was right - time was short. Stanley quickly worked his way to Chet, leaving the broken line attached and securing the new line. Once Chet wasn't in danger of falling any more, the two men worked in tandem to force the door open. It wasn't easy, but they managed despite the awkward angle. Chet had his pocket knife and sawed through the seat belt webbing to free the woman.

It wasn't the ideal solution, but since the woman was maintaining a death grip on Chet anyway, Stanley made use of the other piece of line by taking it around her and tying it off for extra security. He had just finished when more of the ground gave way underneath the car. That was the last straw for the rope. Once it gave way, the car began a slow slide that turned into a drop at the next edge.

Chet was trying without a lot of success to calm the woman when Stanley signaled by a tug for Roy and Mike to start pulling him up. He needed to warn them about the extra weight on Chet's line.

The rain was still steady, but not as hard and there was also a brief respite from the wind as the three men worked together to bring Chet and the woman up out of the gorge. They were near the top when the roar of rushing white water drowned out all other noises. Chet and the woman were well over it, but the waters swept high enough that they reached where the car had been resting just minutes before. The woman wasn't the only one of them trembling by the time they were able to get her and Chet back on their own feet.

The first ambulance had come and gone - taking the pair from the first car, Marco and Johnny with it. As Roy herded Chet and the woman over to where his equipment was, Vince was coordinating with Sherriff Webb about getting equipment to remove the truck, camper and the first wrecked car. At a question from over the line, Vince called over.

"Captain Stanley! Do you think Engine 51 will be able to make it out of here on her own power?"

"Mike and I are checking her over now. Where we were hit did a lot of cosmetic damage, but nothing that will prevent her from being driven so far as we can tell so far."

"Great. The Sherriff thinks he can get a way clear for you within a half-hour if you can. We need to clear this area as fast as possible. The next rain belt is closing in and it looks like it will be harder than the last one."

"Give him our thanks. I'd just as soon not be here for that considering how high the water already is in the gorge."

"Sherriff is of the same opinion. This stretch of road is going to be closed until the rains pass and engineers make sure the water hasn't undercut the foundation. In fact, I'll feel a lot better once he's able to move the engine away from that edge."

"That's two of us. Mike? Think you're ready to try and get Big Red to more solid ground?"

"Ready, Cap."

"Then let's do it, pal."

Standing by as Mike climbed back into the cab of Big Red, Captain Stanley let out a breath he'd been holding once the engine was running and slowly backed onto the asphalt. From the side beside him, it was evident that Vince had been holding his breath as well. Truthfully, Stanley didn't really start breathing easier again until Big Red was backed into the station again.

Station 51 was stood down from service until the damages to both equipment and men could be accessed. Charley moaned over the damages to Big Red and had her removed for repairs. Marco had been slammed into the side of the car when the Engine was hit and suffered a concussion as well as a badly bruised pelvis. Chet had bruising and a couple of cracked ribs from his own harness getting yanked so hard and the young woman, Claire, was fortunate to escape with only a mild concussion and bruising. Her seat belt had saved her from more serious injury during the car's initial slide.

The end tally of the run was four vehicles involved in accidents, one fatality and five injured. It was bad, but it could have been far worse. If Big Red had been moved another six inches, the engine would have tipped over and odds were that he would have lost three men plus the woman. It had been far too close for comfort.

By the time Mike was polishing the newly returned engine, the skies had cleared again. Sitting at his desk, Stanley couldn't help but smile as he heard Johnny and Chet arguing over the relative merits of the latest action movie. Shaking his head in amusement, he started back in on the next requisition form as he commented fondly on the bickering pair.

"Twits."


End file.
